The plan has the support of the American Association of Community Colleges, which has been advocating for tuition-free community college for several years, said David Baime, senior vice president for government relations and policy analysis for AACC.
“We think that the proposal will have a dramatic positive impact on the ability of students to successfully participate in community college education,” Baime said.
The additional funding for HBCUs and MSIs was praised by National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education president and CEO Lezli Baskerville, who called the proposed investments transformational. [The investments are] sorely needed to ensure that HBCUs, predominantly Black institutions and other postsecondary institutions that educate disproportionate percentages of persons of least advantage are prepared, inspired and supported into and through college graduation, Baskerville said.
Across the sector, higher education leaders hoped for better news this semester, said Doug Shapiro, executive director of the research center. He was surprised to see steeper declines this spring than in the fall.
“I think there were many people who thought students might only stop out for a term and once they see the situation improving, they might re-enroll or start up in the spring,” Shapiro said. “And that’s clearly not happening. Declines at the four-year and the two-year institutions are larger than they were last term.”
Some groups of students had steeper enrollment decreases than others. Enrollment of students between the ages of 18 and 20, who make up about 40 percent of undergraduates, fell 7.2 percent, a larger drop than any other age group. At community colleges, enrollment by these traditional college-age students plummeted a dramatic 14.6 percent.
Steep student enrollment declines hit HVCC, SUNY Schenectady amid coronavirus
Steep student enrollment declines hit HVCC, SUNY Schenectady amid coronavirus
But the presidents at the two-year colleges say a return to normalcy should help increase fall enrollment numbers as more people get vaccinated and in-person classes return
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1of20Buy PhotoA view of the SUNY Schenectady college campus on Monday, April 26, 2021, in Schenectady, N.Y. (Paul Buckowski/Times Union)Paul Buckowski/Albany Times UnionShow MoreShow Less
2of20Buy PhotoA view of the SUNY Schenectady college campus on Monday, April 26, 2021, in Schenectady, N.Y. (Paul Buckowski/Times Union)Paul Buckowski/Albany Times UnionShow MoreShow Less
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Editor’s Note: Welcome to Weekly Education: Coronavirus special edition. Each week, we will explore how the pandemic is reshaping and upending education as we know it across the country, from pre-K through grad school. We will explore the debates of the day, new challenges and talk to movers and shakers about whether changes ushered in now are here to stay.
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